Hibisha: Okay, to start this story, we need to take a step back in the past-or should I say 'steps'? This is a story about Gazelle's life. Who he is and why he is so. Everything which makes Gazelle 'Gazelle' is explained. Although, I don't own him. Its just my views. This is what I feel made Gazelle what and who he is.
TOBF: The main plot is to show different sides of a single story-broken into a different form. A trilogy. Burn, Gazelle and Afuro.
Hibisha: This is part one, 'The Untold Story: Suzuno Fuusuke.
TOBF: But why start with Gazelle though Hibisha?
Hibisha: Because I'm kind of sick and tired of all the Burn ones. It seem that he's the only one people write a past for. I feel for Gazelle.
"Chapter 1"
31st December. Mostly, on this day, you find people at parties, having fun, waiting for the new year to begin. But not my mother. She was too busy waiting out the pains which led to a new life on this planet. A new life in the form of a fair, teal eyed boy-me. I was a very beautiful baby according to my mother's best friend but I suspect she was blind or only trying to keep my mother from having a meltdown-I fairly resembled a silver sack of potatoes-or onions. My mother, as told to me by my doctors, seemed to have nearly died of happiness at the sight of me. It never occurred to them that maybe she had simply died that her body could ever produce me-after all, I was a sack of silver potatoes.
Luckily, my mother decided to keep me. It had been tough on her with my father dying a few months before my birth due to a stray bullet from a police officer. Strange, when I hear about my father, he seems to be a saint. How ironic that he was killed by 'justice givers'. But God had rewarded her for her patience. She lost one man, He sent her another, just as appealing, if not slightly younger.
The thing was, I looked unexceptionally like my father, as remarked by most of my neighbors, except for my albino hair, which seemed to be the only trait I had acquired from my mother-had it not been there, I would have doubted her very blatantly. Well, maybe not. I was very, what would you call it, a trying child. My mother loved me to bits and I must admit, I might have gotten a way over my head. But what does one expect at an age of 4-well, I'll be honest, four and one quarter.
My child hood was quite dry to be honest, not what you would expect from me. Or rather, you would?
"Mommy!" I cried, one colorful autumn, "Why do the trees shed off their leaves? Do they not like them anymore? They must feel so sad. Can we keep them?" I had then proceeded to gather as many leaves as I could to take with me, a huge feat for a child of four years. Asking questions had always been one of my specialties. I was a very curious child. I could ask a number of questions in the afternoon and still have a couple of more to ask during supper.
"Mother, why does Mrs. Edith not like me?" I asked, as we ate that night, "She seems to hate me very much." I had not known why that strange look passed over my mother's eyes or why she seemed to be on the verge of tears. I was to find out later exactly why Mrs. Edith, the nasty shopkeeper at the end of the street, looked at me with such anger filled eyes.
The next morning, I asked Mum to take me to the park. Trojan Park. As soon as we got there, Mr. Kawashima came and played with me. He had been a few years younger than my father and had been close friends with him. He was very nice to me although I suspect Mum was a bit hostile towards him-but I guess, I was imagining that. I usually came with mother to play in this park. Although, nobody wanted to play with me. Everyone looked at me strange and I didn't like it so I stopped trying to be friends-who needed friends when I had Mr. Kawashima?
Maybe I had been to oblivious but it soon became apparent to me that I had competition-mum was deciding to keep a pet cat. In all honesty, I was just four and the prospect of sharing my mother with a cat was not altogether very pleasant. So I hatched a plan. I waited till mum went to bed then I kicked the kitten out onto the streets-survival of the fittest right?
The next morning, mother was devastated. And even though I felt satisfied about the kitten leaving, it hurt to see my mother so sad. I think my mother found out about my dirty deed as she changed. She no longer smiled at me warmly. Although, I think the sudden change in her behavior was also due to Mrs. Edith and her mother. They had showed up on my front our front door with few more people I didn't know and had shouted at mum for hours. I wasn't allowed to stay in the room but I did manage to catch a few words like 'whore' and 'illegitimate'. The words 'bitch' and 'cow' were used often but I simply could not understand why the names of these two animal made mother flinch so badly. A lady noticed me and had pointed at me rather rudely and said, 'That vile piece of abomination stole our Shiki from us!"
Now wait just a furball, I didn't understand what they were shouting but I could tell by their tone it wasn't anything nice. And how had I stolen 'Shiki'? Shiki was not an object-Shiki was my dad's name. He was my dad. What right did they have in dragging his name into their conversation? My mother then noticed that I had been eavesdropping.
"Fuuske!" she yelled, "Get away from here. And you, Satsuki," she cried, turning to look at the redheaded lady who had offended me, "Leave him out of this. This has nothing to do with him!" Mrs. Edith had then smiled a very cruel smile. I had seen it before. It was the same smile which had been on the witch's face when she had poisoned Snow White.
"On the contrary my dear," she said in a very scathing tone, "this has everything to do with your son!"
"He is Shiki's son too!" Mum cried, "Why won't you accept him as your grandchild!" Ms. Rosetta sneered at me.
"Accept him? As a part of the Suzuno family? You're lucky we're not stripping him of his name!" Mum's face had softened over slightly and now she simply looked defeated.
"Why Serena? Why won't you accept him as the son of your only brother? Is it because of me? Is it because Shiki married me and not Satsuki? He did not love her."
"He did not love you either!" the red headed woman screamed, "He only married you because you refused to get an abortion!"
"I wish I had!" mother screamed back, "I wish I had!" I froze. I had heard the term abortion before. My pulse quickened. Mum suddenly realized I was still in the room. Angrily, she shouted at everyone to leave. Everyone left, quite shocked at what they had heard. I felt horrified-was it because of the cat?
"Mum," I pleaded, "I'm sorry. I'll get Chiara back!" And I ran out of the house just to prove it. But no matter how much I looked, I couldn't find the stupid cat. Finally, I gave up and sat underneath a tree crying. How could I face mum now? It was ten minutes later that mum came and found me. She picked me up and told me that everything would be okay. I sniffled.
"I'm sorry," I sobbed, "I'll get you a new kitty." My mom smiled a sad smile. I cuddled up to her and fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in my bed. Stumbling downstairs, I found mother lying on the couch and a heavy stench around her. It was a sweet yet bitter aroma. Mother looked at me and grinned.
"Heyy...babbbbyyy..." her accent was weird, "Whatsss my lil boy doin up sssooo early?" I was silent for a moment.
"Mother what does 'whore' mean? And what does 'illegitimate' mean?" I was genuinely curious but my mother suddenly lost control. She raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face. I stood there shell shocked.
"Are you turning against me too?" she screamed, "I hate you! I wish it was you, not Shiki, who had died!" I felt numb. Mother slapped me again. And again. And again. That night, I wept into my pillow for three hours.
Next morning, I got up and tip toed downstairs. If Mum was ill, then I should not disturb her. I made my way over to the fridge and opened it looking for something to eat. Suddenly, my mother's voice echoed all around.
"Is that you Fuusuke? Have some breakfast." I was thrilled. Whatever disease my mum had yesterday, was gone. I ate quickly and Mum said she and I would be going to the park again. I was ecstatic. Running, I changed clothes and we strolled down the path to the heaven which was my playground. I began asking mum questions again.
"Mum, what is water made of? What is the earth made of? What are we made of?..." I continued to prattle on. My mother answered most of them but by the time we came back home, she seemed drained. She took a pill and went to bed. I was slightly worried-was she going to be ill again? However, the next day, we went to the park again. I asked questions again. I was, by nature, a very curious boy who liked to talk very much.
"Why is the sky blue? Why is water in the sea blue but in our home clear? Are they different? Why am I so tiny? Why are you so big..." Again the list went on. As before mum, took a pill and shut herself in her room. Sometimes, when mother thought I was asleep, she would sit beside me and cry. I didn't know why but it saddened me.
This went on for a few more months. Finally, I woke one day and my heart leapt. It was my birthday! I was five! Hallelujah! I began making plans at once. It wasn't everyday one became five years old. Outside, snow continued to fall softly. I ran over to my mother's bedroom and burst in. I was disappointed to see it empty. I trudged my way downstairs to come face to face with a magnificent breakfast. My mother sat at the table.
"Eat up." she said, smiling. I was slightly disturbed-her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. But I ignored it and began stuffing myself. Then I looked at mum with large shiny round eyes. My mum smiled faintly.
"Fuu-chan," she said, "We're going to an amusement park today. Dress up okay?" I ran upstairs. Who cared about food? I had heard from Akira, a neighbor who had been to an amusement park, that it was the most amazing place ever.
The car ride was the most amazing ever.
"What's that orange thing mum?"
"What does that sign mean? Is that a cow? I see a pond! Mother look! I see a pond! Why is it so huge?" Mother shrugged her shoulder and her eyebrows creased together. I was only getting started. I kept asking more and more questions. By the time we got there, mum had a determined look on her face. My eyes were the size of two saucepans. This place was so cool! I wanted to try every ride! Mum accompanied me and I found myself, at the end of the day, sitting exhausted on a bench, eating candy floss.
"Fuu-chan," mum said suddenly, "do you want some ice cream?" I nodded happily and got off my spot but mum shook her head.
"Where are you going mum?" I asked, as she made me sit down again. She crouched down low in front of me so that her face was level with mine.
"Now Fusuuke, listen to me. I want you to sit here and wait for me okay? I'll be right back. And don't talk to strangers." I nodded. My mum got up and made her way to the stalls. It occurred to me that I hadn't told her what flavor I wanted.
"Mum!" I shouted, "what flavor are you getting me?" My mum turned and gave me a smile and went ahead. I sat there, my legs dangling over the edge. Suddenly, I realized I had forgotten to ask mum a very important question.
"Mum, when will you be back?" I cried, reaching out for her but she had already disappeared through the crowd.
That was the last question I ever asked my Mum. I simply wish she had given me a reply.
Two days later, the whole of Japan saw it on the news and in the papers:
NEWS ALERT! LITTLE BOY FOUND ABANDONED BY HEARTLESS MOTHER.
A young boy, aged five, was found by the police officials, stranded on a bench in the amusement park. Suzuno Fuusuke had been waiting for well over 24 hours. After questioning everyone who knew the boy, it was declared that he had been abandoned by 29 year old Biance Suzuno. The boy was returned to his family, relatives from his father's side although they refused to take him in.
"Its that wench's fault and burden, not ours. She was the one who decided to go ahead and have the stupid child."
Authorities are trying to find him a happy home while all the same searching for his mother. If you have any whereabouts about said person contact 0XX-XXX-XXX.
It then went ahead and gave my mother's description. I kept that article clipping-not that anyone knew anyways.
I never asked another question again.
Hibisha: TwT
TOBF: It wasn't that sad!
Hibisha: That's why I'm crying. I couldn't put enough emotion into it. I wanted the readers to see exactly how I saw it.
TOBF: Please Review!
